Key Findings
- 81 percent of residents need immediate repairs to their apartments, with more than half needing bathroom repairs and 45 percent needing kitchen repairs.
- One-quarter of residents say that living conditions directly affect their physical health, with residents experiencing conditions ranging from asthma and other respiratory issues to central nervous system problems and chronic fatigue.
- One-third say that living conditions directly affect their mental health, adding greatly to stress, depression, and other issues.
This is one of the most comprehensive efforts to document what residents are experiencing everyday in public housing on an individual level.
As a result, this survey identified important findings regarding NYCHA conditions on physical and mental health, as well as management responsiveness and building conditions.
The injustice of the health impacts on the people living in public housing cannot be overstated. Buildings can be restored. Thousands of privately-owned buildings which were uninhabitable in the 1970s and 1980s in New York are now fully renovated, safe, and healthy places to live. But a person’s health cannot be so easily restored. Neurological damage from lead poisoning will affect children their entire lives. Respiratory impacts from living long-term with mold or asbestos can be debilitating well beyond when these conditions are remediated. The mental health impacts from the trauma of these housing conditions can stay with people for years. The extent of the health impacts on people as a condition of living in NYCHA found by this survey, as well as other experiences documented by residents, are incredibly disturbing, and a debt to the people affected that cannot be repaid.
“The living conditions in NYCHA buildings are simply inhumane,” says Vernell Robinson, Community Voices Heard board member and a NYCHA resident. “The toxic environment is destroying the health of our communities, which are largely Black and Brown residents. We’ve been speaking out about our plight for years - decades - and NYCHA management just doesn’t seem to care. We are proud to have conducted this survey and worked with RPA on this important report exposing the truth about NYCHA living conditions. NYCHA can no longer turn a blind eye to this blatant injustice. I am committed to ensuring that the voices of public housing residents are heard and that we get the care we deserve.”
The surveys in this report were done over the course of 2018, and this report was finalized in February of 2020 - just before the current COVID-19 pandemic hit. It is now obvious that COVID-19 greatly exacerbates the negative health effects, especially respiratory effects, already experienced by many NYCHA residents due to dilapidated building and apartment conditions.
While there is a lot we still don’t know about COVID-19, we do know several things: COVID-19 is more dangerous to the elderly, people with pre-existing health conditions, and people living in environments which can cause respiratory issues. These populations are all disproportionately represented in NYCHA. The severity of COVID-19 also reflects existing inequities - RPA’s own research has shown that deaths from COVID-19 are highly correlated with communities of color.
Over the course of 2018, several CVH members engaged in an extensive door-to-door survey documenting health and living conditions. This effort reached more than 700 people across 35 buildings in five developments in the Rockaways, and residents spent over 400 hours in this effort. This is just one example of the time and effort residents have gone through in order to bring attention to the deteriorating conditions and their effects on the everyday lives of people who live in NYCHA.
The findings are stark:
- 81 percent of residents need immediate repairs to their apartments, with more than half needing bathroom repairs and 45 percent needing kitchen repairs.
- One-quarter of residents say that living conditions directly affect their physical health, with residents experiencing conditions ranging from asthma and other respiratory issues to central nervous system problems and chronic fatigue.
- One-third say that living conditions directly affect their mental health, adding greatly to stress, depression, and other issues.
Building conditions
![Hammel NYCHA jeh](https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/300/quality:80/work/Reports/2020-reports/NYCHA-Time-to-Act/Hammel_NYCHA_jeh.jpg?bossToken=6f22d85195343b2575d0bccdfa6ad114e6396f318966a606bbbc4a1b6d5544d4 171w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/600/quality:80/work/Reports/2020-reports/NYCHA-Time-to-Act/Hammel_NYCHA_jeh.jpg?bossToken=eda1db3dce950310c3bdfea3ad6ad53ed821aa3ca2e6319f4880b9301becee9b 343w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/900/quality:80/work/Reports/2020-reports/NYCHA-Time-to-Act/Hammel_NYCHA_jeh.jpg?bossToken=de9a79d90b5fec223e7879800aa4892546ca5f552e86fa65f84caaf8c90f421e 514w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/1200/quality:80/work/Reports/2020-reports/NYCHA-Time-to-Act/Hammel_NYCHA_jeh.jpg?bossToken=c405b27cfb768b5d8229be4a156d0dd4aa45d0f1d8c62c440af1c6d8799384df 686w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/1500/quality:80/work/Reports/2020-reports/NYCHA-Time-to-Act/Hammel_NYCHA_jeh.jpg?bossToken=2c93044cf87c3504646ae6157383fe260c8f5988055ef5a7709529b54609ff41 857w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/1800/quality:80/work/Reports/2020-reports/NYCHA-Time-to-Act/Hammel_NYCHA_jeh.jpg?bossToken=7e754545a00d882fcaecc7521c913dac09b91ae82e90dc5e6b0d8c1bea28606b 1029w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/2100/quality:80/work/Reports/2020-reports/NYCHA-Time-to-Act/Hammel_NYCHA_jeh.jpg?bossToken=2111e5f298a44b1c0e3eedbc227926ae4a5254922bb1896a9e95a6043b21372d 1200w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/2400/quality:80/work/Reports/2020-reports/NYCHA-Time-to-Act/Hammel_NYCHA_jeh.jpg?bossToken=7ea369c3de3c86c3b4d698a54178362312b4650da00fd9ec5ba7efeb86402ff8 1371w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/2700/quality:80/work/Reports/2020-reports/NYCHA-Time-to-Act/Hammel_NYCHA_jeh.jpg?bossToken=26cfcdb4db0bd8e0811118a8c45f5fa0e05e3844c4276520bf6851dff9e72996 1543w)
There is paint peeling on the ceiling in the bathroom and on the wall in the bedroom, the toilet is constantly leaking in the bathroom, the water from the kitchen faucet smells. The building’s lobby smells like mold.”
The lobby, hallway, and stairway are regularly not kept clean, the elevator isn’t working, the building is always flooded with sewage.”
Frances, a resident of Beach 41st St Houses, describes undrinkable water coming from the faucet in her apartment.
All of the rooms have paint peeling on the walls and ceilings, the bathroom has mold on the wall and ceiling, the pipes are leaking in the kitchen and bathroom, there’s electrical switch damage in the kitchen, the exhaust fan in the bathroom needs to be repaired.”
Shema, a resident of Hammel Houses, describes the third time her apartment has flooded since 2017.
Management Responsiveness
![Redfern NYCHA jeh](https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/300/quality:80/work/Reports/2020-reports/NYCHA-Time-to-Act/Redfern_NYCHA_jeh.jpg?bossToken=fbf7c6e3f0a0020235bdb0e1c927b3e12825390089b661014b38538ab679a150 171w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/600/quality:80/work/Reports/2020-reports/NYCHA-Time-to-Act/Redfern_NYCHA_jeh.jpg?bossToken=0ca1404f8604e2a3c7c34cec9016ee0b3247a3bf23df703a367e7636a04d3bf2 343w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/900/quality:80/work/Reports/2020-reports/NYCHA-Time-to-Act/Redfern_NYCHA_jeh.jpg?bossToken=9ef2f13f6bc50a218787abbf16a17200eb356bf3f2c16822b5dfc86d8dda320e 514w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/1200/quality:80/work/Reports/2020-reports/NYCHA-Time-to-Act/Redfern_NYCHA_jeh.jpg?bossToken=37acfa0bf004eb48ee3a20c8159c5b81e88762345f559ddd41b09bfc4f27d3ae 686w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/1500/quality:80/work/Reports/2020-reports/NYCHA-Time-to-Act/Redfern_NYCHA_jeh.jpg?bossToken=3aff46d2e9d494dd71d0c71a598a3d0b10fcba0eb4b1e3023d230cd3a4172258 857w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/1800/quality:80/work/Reports/2020-reports/NYCHA-Time-to-Act/Redfern_NYCHA_jeh.jpg?bossToken=111dd833f1ca5ac674597390f456b2089c4c93388a1b7c8b9eeaeaf0775100d7 1029w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/2100/quality:80/work/Reports/2020-reports/NYCHA-Time-to-Act/Redfern_NYCHA_jeh.jpg?bossToken=0ca969ac418fff4fa67baa7125e2dbd0106d44dc78dad9329e5f1c76bb9e87ef 1200w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/2400/quality:80/work/Reports/2020-reports/NYCHA-Time-to-Act/Redfern_NYCHA_jeh.jpg?bossToken=059f5b02a679264e9ef8e86187952c8d44200efa1170381cb0ac74b013037917 1371w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/2700/quality:80/work/Reports/2020-reports/NYCHA-Time-to-Act/Redfern_NYCHA_jeh.jpg?bossToken=f1247b7f279dcc3a58c3dd456d293ee9e8d4c4996ffcd7e7f353b094661222c1 1543w)
Marcia, a resident of Ocean Bay (Oceanside), describes the slow and inadequate responses from building management.
There was more than one terrible job done in my apartment - they have no respect that I have a job and can’t keep taking off for their employees to not do decent work.”
Danielette, a resident of Hammel Houses, describes unresponsive management in her building.
![Rockaway Community Pk td 2018 12 13 02 Edgemere Houses](https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/300/quality:80/work/Reports/2020-reports/NYCHA-Time-to-Act/Rockaway_Community_Pk_td_2018-12-13_02_-_Edgemere_Houses.jpg?bossToken=3bcbd471129c86045117f840b598cc752d2a029d90912620cf31033a632d3c7f 171w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/600/quality:80/work/Reports/2020-reports/NYCHA-Time-to-Act/Rockaway_Community_Pk_td_2018-12-13_02_-_Edgemere_Houses.jpg?bossToken=195fada77d2882d1782f91d454f891d2691153e70bc199270375d2a4403436ef 343w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/900/quality:80/work/Reports/2020-reports/NYCHA-Time-to-Act/Rockaway_Community_Pk_td_2018-12-13_02_-_Edgemere_Houses.jpg?bossToken=1a12b0bc4c4331bf4d6953e2737d35433403581246a8535f5d6243db601d540d 514w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/1200/quality:80/work/Reports/2020-reports/NYCHA-Time-to-Act/Rockaway_Community_Pk_td_2018-12-13_02_-_Edgemere_Houses.jpg?bossToken=41a39271b3cf03d9287596599561d19f2204e11c97a545eff0c75e2ee59903a7 686w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/1500/quality:80/work/Reports/2020-reports/NYCHA-Time-to-Act/Rockaway_Community_Pk_td_2018-12-13_02_-_Edgemere_Houses.jpg?bossToken=3435a71e98abc1535e5a1339cfb2b4a7f0a3d4bf4e43a5e4d933054c9712321a 857w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/1800/quality:80/work/Reports/2020-reports/NYCHA-Time-to-Act/Rockaway_Community_Pk_td_2018-12-13_02_-_Edgemere_Houses.jpg?bossToken=81185526369814411e4421a659cc739b799e8ada5c7b0c55f61c7aa2e2dd9434 1029w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/2100/quality:80/work/Reports/2020-reports/NYCHA-Time-to-Act/Rockaway_Community_Pk_td_2018-12-13_02_-_Edgemere_Houses.jpg?bossToken=90741eccb2b0d24685ec82c9d5cb463fa9b75d33945a03bfc106b1b4044d8124 1200w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/2400/quality:80/work/Reports/2020-reports/NYCHA-Time-to-Act/Rockaway_Community_Pk_td_2018-12-13_02_-_Edgemere_Houses.jpg?bossToken=956823ea07a53aeb60602efd53517108a7e1c5cdab228d6753a57646cbcd0c8b 1371w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/2700/quality:80/work/Reports/2020-reports/NYCHA-Time-to-Act/Rockaway_Community_Pk_td_2018-12-13_02_-_Edgemere_Houses.jpg?bossToken=94e0714d57f7d9b39dad4bc341cb6c9d3b00e2ec5503dd8f1092e8de50382700 1543w)
Physical and Mental Health
![IMG 8847 copy](https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/300/quality:80/work/Reports/2020-reports/NYCHA-Time-to-Act/IMG_8847-copy.jpg?bossToken=816cc2f084482c6f577adfd240b630956a9067582d52f6353671a550b7c113f4 171w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/600/quality:80/work/Reports/2020-reports/NYCHA-Time-to-Act/IMG_8847-copy.jpg?bossToken=d09eac7eb9deb73ed4d3281a964fda87b570472f707d7353e49e77ef55f599e3 343w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/900/quality:80/work/Reports/2020-reports/NYCHA-Time-to-Act/IMG_8847-copy.jpg?bossToken=3d870efc64319863a8b1073b75ef526f61c3e0b6bb9c102e9441f532fee883fb 514w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/1200/quality:80/work/Reports/2020-reports/NYCHA-Time-to-Act/IMG_8847-copy.jpg?bossToken=45c1df3c9a8d442fe01a4e59b76e818b2b38ae65866fb4023f2242629a3b241e 686w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/1500/quality:80/work/Reports/2020-reports/NYCHA-Time-to-Act/IMG_8847-copy.jpg?bossToken=7825a6645663479a4f36a291e1dbf3735500b5d8331ead3bc1f085b4d94cf86d 857w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/1800/quality:80/work/Reports/2020-reports/NYCHA-Time-to-Act/IMG_8847-copy.jpg?bossToken=6c24e34661862a5c8c807693370a0c58c8bceb7024da1467f07b0bca39ea9597 1029w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/2100/quality:80/work/Reports/2020-reports/NYCHA-Time-to-Act/IMG_8847-copy.jpg?bossToken=183fb3ddadd2172383b46db5044b44426404d17720912f55bb10ff49305c007f 1200w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/2400/quality:80/work/Reports/2020-reports/NYCHA-Time-to-Act/IMG_8847-copy.jpg?bossToken=20a8152654cda7f4bc23064c8ff49bf28c9d7f4f7a0705801ed8e3610e381891 1371w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/2700/quality:80/work/Reports/2020-reports/NYCHA-Time-to-Act/IMG_8847-copy.jpg?bossToken=1d10d67e1cf342194522a19330cf350d7dbc2bba620c3c9478078d9166ab8bbe 1543w)
Just inhaling the smell of the mold - it’s not healthy.”
![IMG 9784](https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/300/quality:80/work/Reports/2020-reports/NYCHA-Time-to-Act/IMG_9784.jpg?bossToken=d3abe0f5495f491d742c4dcfeb5f767a47a972a1ba62aa8cf6e993b628e4626b 171w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/600/quality:80/work/Reports/2020-reports/NYCHA-Time-to-Act/IMG_9784.jpg?bossToken=001cdc5b73f0cb9a4510c24b187aba887558bc85d7e14fc66e21139c4ffd771b 343w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/900/quality:80/work/Reports/2020-reports/NYCHA-Time-to-Act/IMG_9784.jpg?bossToken=599866de40f2748d3140bc4330c1b5bbfa89ea193e24bf8129ce7297f146458e 514w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/1200/quality:80/work/Reports/2020-reports/NYCHA-Time-to-Act/IMG_9784.jpg?bossToken=0bb8da75ed4b0570c70e411f27c613ab93c1f09b5c7405906338dec1222b7cd3 686w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/1500/quality:80/work/Reports/2020-reports/NYCHA-Time-to-Act/IMG_9784.jpg?bossToken=133cf27cc44b90681056dae257578932bd5bba77b950fe8e47d34504bd69eae2 857w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/1800/quality:80/work/Reports/2020-reports/NYCHA-Time-to-Act/IMG_9784.jpg?bossToken=4de299d697a61af22f28ab6a88905b1e0e5ed810b74d2b1bf99d2b58a7a72e83 1029w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/2100/quality:80/work/Reports/2020-reports/NYCHA-Time-to-Act/IMG_9784.jpg?bossToken=69c18ad5f2fe143e14f784a2396c9bab356baa605be1a25abfdeb627c708b31c 1200w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/2400/quality:80/work/Reports/2020-reports/NYCHA-Time-to-Act/IMG_9784.jpg?bossToken=363886ceb759e200888d0490a18b8c4a14e758c0e2aef7e3c4fbacae6c0991ec 1371w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/width/2700/quality:80/work/Reports/2020-reports/NYCHA-Time-to-Act/IMG_9784.jpg?bossToken=5c145bb2ab1b2eae91d320d5396fb68ecb87a2126baa3fc8ccd8b16c048b3313 1543w)
Fundamentally, NYCHA residents simply need the same things as residents of all other housing: homes and buildings in good repair, and safe and healthy living conditions. At this point, however, it will be a major effort to achieve these standards. Virtually every public housing building needs a comprehensive renovation requiring significant investment. RPA, CVH, and several other organizations have suggested paths toward financing and effecting this larger effort, including calling for each level of government to work together to fully fund NYCHA repairs.
However, more immediate reforms can also be done. Residents have a right to management that is punctual, respectful, and responsive.
In addition to the survey in the Rockaways, CVH’s roundtables and organizing meetings found numerous issues with the way NYCHA approaches its complaint system, property management, and capital planning.
Complaint Systems
NYCHA’s centralized call system, covering more than 400,000 residents across five boroughs, is clearly not working from a resident perspective.
More autonomy and responsiveness at the local level is greatly needed, with training and dispatch authority given to individual developments. When CVH toured the NYCHA call center, they noted that frustration is not just on the residents’ part, but that not being able to direct people to correct services and help improve conditions also leads to a great deal of frustration on the part of call center employees.
The inability to get responses to emergency conditions is also a large problem with the system. Residents noted that the centralized complaint center was not able to handle emergencies well, and that access to the emergency NYCHA service line was not made available to all residents.
Doubly frustrating is that NYC already has a professional complaint system for city services with the 311 system. This is the service used for all other housing complaints in NYC, and also helps document and analyze issues.
Siloing NYCHA from the 311 service does a disservice both to NYCHA residents and NYC overall.
One bright spot has been the MyNYCHA app.
NYCHA does have two in-person drop-in centers, one near Fordham Road in The Bronx and one near Atlantic Center in Brooklyn. However, the survey showed that these were not well known or utilized - likely because very few people in NYCHA live near these centers. Only 616 NYCHA apartments, or 0.4 percent of the total, are within a 10-minute walk of one of the drop-in centers. Only 6,363, or 3.7 percent of all NYCHA apartments, are within a 20-minute walk.
With a move toward a less centralized complaint system, there are some aspects of the current system which are important and should be retained. These include the documentation of the complaint with registered ticket number, and a uniform experience in customer service - albeit a much better experience than currently exists.
Property Management
The first steps to better property management is believing residents’ reports of needed repair, and respecting residents’ time and schedules.
If a problem is reported, the first person to respond should be someone who can fix the problem as reported. Instead, residents report that NYCHA will often send someone first to validate a problem. This is not only inefficient and costly, it is insulting.
Residents also point to very little advance notice is given to residents for scheduling repairs, in some cases as short as next-day notice. This results in an inability to take off work or rearrange other obligations in order to be home for a repair appointment. Residents also report a disconnect between the call centers and the property management offices. Oftentimes, the window of time given for an appointment by the call center is not communicated to or not accepted by the management office. This results in missed appointments, which are blamed on residents not giving access, or continual rescheduling resulting in even more time needed to be taken off from work or other obligations.
NYCHA also needs to do more on providing better language access for non-English speakers in developments, and invest in a management training and evaluation system that prioritizes respect for residents.
Capital Planning and Repairs
Every five years, NYCHA is required to do a comprehensive Physical Needs Assessment (PNA) detailing conditions in each development and the cost of their repair. Although the PNA is on the website, it is not broadly advertised or understood. The first step to trust is transparency, especially when it comes to the conditions of individuals’ homes. Individual documentation of the Physical Needs Assessment for each specific developments should be made easily available at that development. Lists of planned and needed repairs and renovations can be made more transparent, and regular meetings to address them which are open to tenants should be organized.
It is clear that residents need to be a more regular part of the conversation with NYCHA management at all levels.
In addition to just conversation, a concrete way for residents to influence decision-making concerning building repairs is needed.
To this end, direct access to specialized technical help, such as construction managers, elevator and plumbing technicians, engineers or architects with development experience, and design professionals would be invaluable. This would help residents understand the root causes of problems at their developments, and gain a sense of the actual capital needs and potential costs of repairs. In turn, this would allow residents to be better positioned to make proposals to NYCHA as well as the local, state, and federal government to secure necessary dollars and execute planned repairs and renovations.
Direct Access to Specialized Technical Help
One example of the potential usefulness of direct access to specialized technical help comes from the Polo Grounds. Resident leaders documented leaks throughout the building and developed a comprehensive leak map to assist management with the best route to repair. While NYCHA promised to do an assessment, nothing was put in writing, and this promise was never followed up on. Access to a construction management firm, for instance, would have allowed residents to benefit from having professional help in this endeavor and present a report that they could then be used to make concrete demands for repairs, as well as give NYCHA a road map for a comprehensive solution to the leaks.
![NYCHA polo grounds](https://img.imageboss.me/general/cover/300x300/fp-x:0.5,fp-y:0.5,quality:80/work/Reports/2020-reports/NYCHA-Time-to-Act/NYCHA-polo-grounds.jpg?bossToken=25560b42becdba226e7b14fa8eb8c27c2d17678ea5a61a46e593535362437ff3 171w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/cover/600x600/fp-x:0.5,fp-y:0.5,quality:80/work/Reports/2020-reports/NYCHA-Time-to-Act/NYCHA-polo-grounds.jpg?bossToken=70425bf36a43f131e99e9224bfa3b2a2ebe92073d8e71ea8438a972107fecb8d 343w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/cover/900x900/fp-x:0.5,fp-y:0.5,quality:80/work/Reports/2020-reports/NYCHA-Time-to-Act/NYCHA-polo-grounds.jpg?bossToken=baabf1bb97da995db544bdbcee4255f78da03c3505debb3e459dbf8087b8693e 514w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/cover/1200x1200/fp-x:0.5,fp-y:0.5,quality:80/work/Reports/2020-reports/NYCHA-Time-to-Act/NYCHA-polo-grounds.jpg?bossToken=ce0fbb4b72a939667771655abd47dcabdec41aab2d2b34e11ff93ff4aea4d99a 686w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/cover/1500x1500/fp-x:0.5,fp-y:0.5,quality:80/work/Reports/2020-reports/NYCHA-Time-to-Act/NYCHA-polo-grounds.jpg?bossToken=f05fe106be3cd797d5e46462b240157c9d0fea18ee3439cc09eea02803012572 857w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/cover/1800x1800/fp-x:0.5,fp-y:0.5,quality:80/work/Reports/2020-reports/NYCHA-Time-to-Act/NYCHA-polo-grounds.jpg?bossToken=1cd96cafc3b2c57a6f514f119b89a70e5858ca11aaa17ca007acd0fe17892404 1029w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/cover/2100x2100/fp-x:0.5,fp-y:0.5,quality:80/work/Reports/2020-reports/NYCHA-Time-to-Act/NYCHA-polo-grounds.jpg?bossToken=27ab1b89ba4076ab09b9fe8209a6be3f38c77adb005b31fae87053317d0a5c3a 1200w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/cover/2400x2400/fp-x:0.5,fp-y:0.5,quality:80/work/Reports/2020-reports/NYCHA-Time-to-Act/NYCHA-polo-grounds.jpg?bossToken=38d1f2abc3e8a55e017cf2ba81fd912d0d7b3f1a3357a81d3c7ea2343ab5817f 1371w, https://img.imageboss.me/general/cover/2700x2700/fp-x:0.5,fp-y:0.5,quality:80/work/Reports/2020-reports/NYCHA-Time-to-Act/NYCHA-polo-grounds.jpg?bossToken=12079e3ec4af58e3b955e95b7e4c5f7216fe1a72333794d185181446927c1d7a 1543w)
Wally Gobetz
Next Steps
While a long-term plan for NYCHA is desperately needed, we cannot lose sight of the everyday reality for residents. Conditions in public housing are consistently leading to impacts which spiral far beyond just apartment conditions. Health impacts from lead and mold exposure can stay with people for years if not lifetimes. Jobs can be lost because of the need to continually be home during working hours for repairs.
It is also clear that NYCHA needs to be at the center of an equitable recovery from COVID-19, which has hit our public housing residents extremely hard. The neglect of NYCHA has directly led to living environments which have exacerbated the effects of COVID. Any recovery program must not miss the chance to prioritize making NYCHA a healthy living environment once again.
As detailed in RPA’s 2018 report NYCHA’s Crisis: A Matter for all New Yorkers, NYCHA is also vital to New York’s economy and neighborhoods. NYCHA residents hold more than 137,000 jobs, including more than 30,000 in the Health Care sector alone. They spend more than $2 billion dollars a year, much of it supporting local businesses, and own hundreds of local businesses themselves. NYCHA developments house 121 senior centers, 126 pre-school and childcare facilities, and almost 200 acres of recreational open space. The deteriorated living conditions do not just affect NYCHA residents, they affect thousands of other New Yorkers, dozens of neighborhoods, and the economy of our entire city.
NYCHA residents pay rent and have the right to expect safe and healthy living conditions and apartments in a state of good repair - the same as tenants in buildings owned by non-profit or private landlords.
Residents are not to blame for current conditions in NYCHA, and many have gone above and beyond what should be expected of tenants in trying to document and fix them.
The culprit is the broken compact between our local and federal governments, resulting in the underfunding of both operations and capital and inadequate management systems. Narratives which blame residents for the physical condition of buildings are not only incorrect, they are harmful in building the accountability and trust necessary to move forward with solutions.
Funded By
- Deutsche Bank Foundation
- Ford Foundation
- PNC Foundation
Produced With
- Vernell Robinson
- Community Voices Heard Rockaway Hub project coordinator, Carleton Manor
- Kimberly Comes
- Redfern Houses
- Lorraine Evans
- Beach 41st Street Houses
- Benard Gabriel
- Beach 41st Street Houses
- Danielette Horton
- Hammel Houses
- Marcia Jones
- Oceanside Houses
- Sheba Lee
- Hammel Houses
- Margareth Massac
- Oceanside Houses
- Denise McBride
- Oceanside Houses
- Anna Velazquez
- Beach 41st Street Houses
Other Reports in this Series
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